A solidarity rally was held at the San Francisco US Federal building to call for the judge to reject the Lawfare Project nuisance lawsuit and attacks on Professor Abdulhadi, her students and the program she runs. There has been an organized campaign by David Horowitz and other Zionists to target Professor Abdulhadi, Palestinian students and to eliminate the Arab & Muslim Ethnicities & Diasporas department in SFSU Ethnic Studies.

A solidarity rally was held on August 8, 2018 at the San Francisco US Federal Court by the International Campaign to Defend Professor Rabab Abdulhadi to call for the US Federal Judge Orrick to reject the Lawfare Project nuisance lawsuit. The Lawfare Project identifies itself as the “legal arm of the pro-Israel community” with an avowed mission of inflicting massive punishment against critics of Israel, first filed the lawsuit, Mandel v. Board of Trustees, in June 2017, along with the firm Winston & Strawn LLP. A previous version of the lawsuit, which criticized Abdulhadi’s research in Palestine and efforts to build a partnership with a Palestinian university, was dismissed in March 2018. Now in its third iteration, the lawsuit focuses on Abdulhadi’s role as a faculty advisor to a Palestinian student group and her outspoken criticism of Zionism, alleging that her statements and beliefs have created a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students at SFSU. The lawsuit is one element of a broader campaign abusing civil rights laws to suppress campus criticism of Israel. Abdulhadi and SFSU moved to dismiss this case. In court and Abdulhadi’s attorneys argued that the lawsuit fails to make any actionable claims against her and instead tries to silence First Amendment protected speech and academic freedom. One of the complainants is Russian American Zionist Masha Merkulova who is founder of Club Z, a Bay Area-based organization for teens that supports Israel and Zionism. Trade unionists and union locals including from AFT 2121, CFA SFSU and the San Francisco Labor Council SFLC have all called for an end to the harassment and terrorism against Professor Abdulhadi, her students and their program Arab & Muslim Ethnicities & Diasporas. Additional media: https://www.facebook.com/events/248247629297399/https://mondoweiss.net/2018/06/silencing-palestinian-professors/ CFA SFSU Statement in Solidarity With Abdulhadi https://www.calfac.org/item/resolution-defense-academic-freedom-professor-abdulhadi-0http://sflaborcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/02-12-18RESOLUTION-IN-DEFENSE-OF-ACADEMIC-FREEDOM-FOR-PROFESSOR-ABDULHADI.pdf Production of Labor Video Project http://www.laborvideo.org